Iyad Madani, Saudi Arabia's former Minister of Haj (pilgrimage) and Information, will become the 10th Secretary-General of the 56-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) of which summit is being held nowadays in Cairo. Diplomatic sources have told Amwal Al Ghad that the OIC leaders during the closing meeting of their Feb. 6-7 summit in Cairo will announce the appointment of the Saudi Arabia's candidate Madani as the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation as of January 1st, 2014. Madani succeeds Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, whose term expires at the end of this year, the sources added. He will be the first Saudi to fill the key position. Madani was editor-in-chief of Saudi Gazette until 1999. Then he served as minister of Hajj from 1999 to 2005. Then he served as minister of culture and information from 2005 to 2009 and was replaced by Abdulaziz Al Khoja. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Knowledge Economic City on 10 March 2012, replacing Sami Mohsen Baroum. He also serves as vice president of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Foundation for Housing Development. In November 2012, Saudi Arabia nominated Madani to the post of secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the 39th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC member states in Djibouti. The 12th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference is being held in Cairo, Egypt from the 2nd till the 7th of February 2013. Convening the Islamic Summit in Cairo entails a great significance as it is the first time for Egypt to host a summit of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC); the second largest intergovernmental organization (57 States from 4 continents) after the United Nations, in addition to the fact that it will be the first summit to be held in Egypt after the 25th of January Revolution. During a conference in Djibouti in 2012, OIC foreign ministers had welcomed Madani's nomination and pledged their support to the Kingdom's candidate. The Twelfth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference is being held in Cairo, Egypt from the 2nd till the 7th of February 2013. Convening the Islamic Summit in Cairo entails a great significance as it is the first time for Egypt to host a summit of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC); the second largest intergovernmental organization (57 States from 4 continents) after the United Nations, in addition to the fact that it will be the first summit to be held in Egypt after the 25th of January Revolution.
